Paper-folding and wrapper-applying machine



G. E. RIDE R ET AL- PAPER FOLDING! AND WRA PPER APPLYING MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1922 4 Sheets- Sheet l Wig [live/1701;; G )7. 72616070.

Q N R Oct. 21.. 1924.

G E. RIDER ET AL PAPER FOLDING AND WRAPPER APPLYING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Shef 2 Filed Aug. 14 1922 I five/1105s? 6.54. G'Zeaaam Oct. .21 1924. 1,512,312

G. E. RIDER ET AL PAPER FOLDING WRAPPER APPLYING MACHINE Filed Aug. 14, 1922 4 Sheets-SheeiB I G; E. RIDER ET AL PAPER FOLDING AND WRAPPER APPLYING MACHINE Filed ug. 14, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Got. 21, 1924.

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GEORGE E. RIDER AND CLARENCE GLEASON, ill KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

Application filed August 14, 1922. fierial No. 531,543.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, Gronen E, RIDER and Cniinnnon A. Gnnason, citizens of the United States, and residents of Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Paper- Folding and rapper-Applying 'Machines, of which the following is a complete specifi' cation.

This invention relates to paper folding and wrapping machines, and has for its primary object to produce a machine for efficiently and neatly interfolding a news paper ormagazine and wrapper together as rapidly as the printed papers are discharged from a press; afurther object being to produce a machine adapted for automatic adjustment of the paper-folding elements, to accommodate papers of different size as regards the number of sheets and the diameter of the papers when folded, or rolled.

With these general objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed;

' and in order that it may be fully understood,

reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which 1-- Figure l is a top plan view of a machine embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is aside elevation of such machine.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the machine.

Figure at is a vertical section taken on the line 1V-l of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation with parts broken away to more clearly disclose the newspaper pick-up mechanism.

Figure 6 is a detailed section showing the vacuum connection for the newspaper pickup devices. 7

Figure *2 is a detail sectional view of one of the newspaper pick-up de ices.

Figure 8 is a similar view of the wrapper pick-up devices. I

Figure 9 is a detail vertical section showlnjl the wrapper vacuum connection.

Figure 10 is an inverted view of a slidably mounted pawl forming a part of the adhesive-applying mechanism; and Figure 11 a diagrammatic view showing steps in the folding and wrapping operation.

In the said drawings where like reference ciaracters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, 1 indicates the sides of a' frameworkxleading from or arranged adjacent a printing ress (not shown) from which newspapers N or the like, in a sub stantially horizontal stack, are fed standing edgewise and flatly together in any suitable manner upon suitable supports 2 until arrested by'the abutment of the upperportion of the foremost sheet with a stop 3e21- sides of the frametending from one of work to the othe An air exhausting or vacuum tube 1 connects withthe tubular arm 5 of a head 6 journaled upon a tubular'rock shaft mounted in the framework and provided with a port 8 adapted to be alternately opened and closed to communication with the tubular arm 5 through rocking movement imparted, as hereinafter described, to

the said shaft.

Shaft 7 is provided preferably at two intermediate points, with ports 9 communicat-- ing with tubular arms 10 rigidly secured on shaft, and said arms are provided with arcuate extensions 11 extending con centrically of shaft"? and adapted to be sealed at their outer ends by pressing against the foremost paper, so that when'said arms rock away from the stack or column'of papers, they shall draw the foremost paper with them and withdraw it from the stack or column.

The shaft 7 is provided with a crank-arm 12, pivotally connected by a link 13 with a crank-arm 14 on transverse shaft 15, and mounted upon the latter a pair of feed rollers 16 provided with peripheral recesses 17. A shaft 18 parallel with and above shaft 1.5, is equipoed with a similar pair of rollers 19 provided with peripheral recesses 20;

the rollers 16 and 19 being adapted to cooperate in the feeding operations of the newspapers, as hereinafter more pwticularly explained, andthe rear shoulders of the roll-.

naled in any sui of a second. in 1 right angles to the newspapers of the menti table I new the

nanner on t 24, extending at direction of travel of .n at the discharge end amework.

he sides Secured on shaft 23 is an eccentric 25 engaging an eccentric strap 26, and the latter is connected to arms 27 rigid with an inverted U-shaped tucker 28 for engaging the newspapers as they are fed horizontally one at a time, by the rollers 16 and 19, and imparting to them a preliminary fold and tucking them in this condition down be tween a pair of'feed rollers 29 journaled in boxes 30 set in the sides of framework 24; one set of boxes of the rollers being relatively movable toward the other set by springs 31 to provide for the proper passage between them of the newspapers regardless of the bulk thereof wiien in folded condition.

The rollers 29 are geared together exterior to framework 24, by conventional staggered toothed gear wheels 32 and 33 to insure transmission of power from one to the other regardless of the relative position of the rollers, and one of the latter is driven from shaft 23 through the sprocket wheel 34 on shaft: 23, chain 35 and sprocket wheel 36 on the shaft of said roller. Underlying the other rear roller 29 is a cooperating roller 37 of reduced diameter centrally for a purpose hereinafter explained, and the shaft of roller 37 is equipped with a gear wheel 38 similar to and meshing with gear wheel 33. Boxes 39 in which the shaft of roller 37 is journaled, receive the pressure of springs 40 whereby the roller 37 may move away from the overlying roller 29 to accommodate the passage of folded papers of difi'erentbulk. Rearward of rollers 29 is a roller 41 of the same'type as roller 37, and the shaft of roller 41 is equipped with a gear wheel 42 of the same type as and meshed with gear wheel 33, so that roller 41, shall cooperate with the adjacent rolls-r29 after the latter and the underlying roller 37 have cooperatively functioned. The shaft of roller 41 is journaled in boxes 43 which under pressure of springs 44 hold roller 41 in yielding! relation to the adjacent roller 29, for the same reason rollere 29 bear a yielding relation to each other.

To primarily make the second fold in the paper and incidentally insert the end of a wrapper in such fold and tuck the paper between the cooperative rollers 29 and 37, and after the paper has emerged from be tween said rollers, again fold and tuck it up between said rollers 29 and 41, the following mechanism is provided:

A hollow shaft 44 (see Figure 9), is journaled in parallel relation to and below rollc 37, and is provided with an air port 4:) adapted for communication at times with a chamber 46 of a collar 47 connected to an air exhausting tube 48. The shaft is equipped with tucker 49 comprising tubular arms in communication with the interior of the shaft 44, and an arc-shaped blade having passages 50 communicating at their inner ends to the passages of the arms and terminating at their outer ends in mouths 51 at the peripheral side and near the front edge of the tucker. To rock the shaft, it is provided with a crank-arm 52 pivotally connected by link 53 to a wrist pin 54 on sprocket wheel 34, and arm 52 has a spring-actuated slidable pawl 55 adapted when the tucker 49 is withdrawn, to engage a tooth of ratchet wheel 56, and, as the tucker advances, impart rotary movement to said ratchet wheel, a springactuated detent 57 insuring arrest of the ratchet wheel as the pawl leaves the latter, and holding it against backward movement so that it shall always be properly positioned for actuation by the pawl. The ratchet wheel is secured to a shaft 58 journaled in framework 24, and equipped with a rotary brush 59 partly submerged in a liquid paste or adhesive container 69, held against the lower edge of the foremost of a'stack of wrappers 61 supported on a shelf ano adapted to be fed toward the brush by hand pressure or by a follower not shown, of any conventional type employed in paper stack feeding devices. The shelf has corner arms 62 to limit feeding adjustment of the wrappers and to hold the foremost ones from buckling under e11 gagement by said tucker as it returns to pickup or lowered position.

lit will be noted by reference to Figure 4, that the arc-shaped portion of tucker 50 is of such form and proportion that it cooperates with arms 62 in guarding against the foremost wrapper or wrappers curli: 3' over at the upper edge and that when said tucker is in its withdrawn position as indicated in dotted lines, its front or face is bearing against theupper part of the foremost wrapper and that the latter seals the months 51 at the instant the advance movement of said tucker begins, because at such instant, the heft 44 disposes its port in communication with the air-exhausting tube 48. The wrapper i therefore drawn upward from the stack, and at the start of such action, the brush rotates and spreads an adhesive on the face of the Wrapper the lower edge thereof.

The shaft 44 has a second crank arm 63 pivotally connected by a link 64 to the crank arm 65 of a shaft 66 journaled in framewor; 24 and equipped with a tucker 67 for operating upwardly between roller 41. and the adjacent roller 29 to start the third and final folding operation to be completed by said rollers, the parts being so arranged that the tucker 67 moves upward against the paper after the completion of the second folding thereof, and applies pressure midway the width of the paper to fold or buckle it upward and force it between the said rollers 29 and 41, the folding operation incidentally folding the wrapper tucked endwise in the paper as the second folding operation occurred, but leaving the adhesivecoated end projecting sufficiently to com plet-ely encircle the folded paper and overlap an exposed portion of the wrappert for adhesion thereto, as hereinafter explained, it being noted in this connection that although the paper is folded in passing roller 37 and again folded in passing roller &1, it is not contaminated by paste or'adhesive, as the reduced central portions of the said rollers accommodate the wrapper, and the adhesive. side of the latter never contacts with the working face of any of the rollers. The adhesive coated end of the wrapper remains projected from the paper until the final fold of the latter is accomplished, and is then forced down upon a portion of the wrapped wrapper itself, this occurring as the folded and wrapped paper is rotated as it is conveyed to the discharge point of the machine, as hereinafter explained. In this connection it will be understood that as the tucker L9 inserts the front end of the wrapper into the folding paper, and the latter is gripped between roller 37 and the overlying roller 29, the port moves out of communication with the vacuum tube 48, and the wrapper is therefore released preliminary to the re turn; of the said tucker to pick up another wrapper for a repetition of the operation described.

To feed the folded paper to the discharge end of the machine, andl wrap or wind the projecting end of the wrap-per completely around the paper and cause it to adhere to itself and thus hold the paper in folded condition, the' following mechanism is provided:

An endless traveling feeder extending from a point above the roller 41 to the discharge end of the machine consists of a transverse shaft 68 journaled in bearings 69 on the sides of framework 20, a pair of sprocket wheels 7 O overlying the extremity of roller 41, chains 71 connecting said wheels with larger sprocket wheels 72 secured on a second transverse shaft 73, jo-urnaled in the sides of a skeleton frame consisting of the longitudinal side bars 7 4i and transverse connecting bars 75. Said frame is mounted at one end on shaft 68 and at the other on a rod one end of the shaft of the rearmost of the pair of rollers 29. It will thus be seen by and slightly inward of the vertical plane of the chains of the latter, is a pair of longitudinally-extending bars 82, mounted at their rear end on angle brackets 83 secured to the sides of said framework, and at their front ends on a crossbar 84 secured to the sides of s the framework. Below said bars 82 and eX- tending transversely of the framework and j ournaled therein are cross shafts equipped with a plurality. of star wheels 86 occupying vertical planes between the chains 7 fl and the adjacentbars 82, and said shafts 85 are geared together by a chain 87 and sprocket wheels 88 so that the star wheels shall turn together and at the same speed.

As the newspapers pass successively from engagement with roller 29, and an idler roller 89, rearward thereof to assist roller 41 in the feeding operation, the latter under cooperative action with the feeding mechanism impels the papers toward the star wheels, the travel being-positive because of the pressure of the teeth of the feeder chains. The papers are caught by the bars 82 as the former clear the roller ll, and are pushed by said teeth against the upwardlyprojecting' arms of the pairs ofstar wheels in the order in which the latter are encountered, and thus impart rotation to said wheels and eventually ride clear of the free ends of such arms. As this occurs with each star wheel the paper clearing the same has attained a position over the arm of the next star wheel, about to swingupwardly and rearwardly beyond the bars 82, and the following arm of the star wheel turned by a particular paper, then engages such paper and continuing its movement until it has lDS llO

reached or approximately reached the upwardly-projecting arm of the next star wheel, it being understood that the feed. chains cooperate 111 this action and keep the paper in continuous movement towards the rear end of the machine and eventually discharges'itoff the discharge end of the.

bars. In this action it will also be observed that the folded papers are in effect rolled along thebars 82 and thereby better maintained in substantially rolled condition for the purpose of giving the adhesively-coated end of the wrapper sufficient time to dry and thus guard against the expansion and unwrapping of the paper. 1

I To complete the wrapping of the paper, that is to cause the projecting end of the wrapper to wind completely around the paor the like and under which the papers as they successively pass the roller 4-1 are adapted to pass, the said flexible strip serving as the papers are rolled forward, to in I effect, apply a wiping pressure on the projecting end of the wrapper at the outer side thereof so as to complete the winding of such end around and cause it to adhere to the body portion of the wrapper and thus securely hold the wrapped paper in folded or rolled condition.

In Figure l, a series of papers in rolled or wrapped condition. are indicated in dotted line a traveling upon the supporting bars 82 and are adapted-to be engaged by strip 88 which will rest upon all of the papers in succession, said strip resting upon the shafts 85, or some of them when the machine is empty. To make the wrapping ac tion clearer reference is to be had to Figure ll, which indicates diagrammatically the successive folds of the paper and the application thereto of a wrapper. The first fig are to the left shows the paper as it appears after the first fold downward between the roller 29. The next figure to the right shows the paper after the second fold has been made and the end of the wrapper has been tucked into the fold. The next figure to the right shows the paper after the third or final fold has been made and show the end of the wrapper still proiecting.

T he fourth figure shows the paper wrapped or rolled and the wrapper wound completely around the same and affixed to 'tself. In said figure a indicates the original fold point, 6 the second fold point and c the third or final fold point, the paper and wrapper being indicated in single lines, that is with no thickness, as the clearest method ofillustration.

As the function and operation of the variset ous parts have been forth in detail, we believe that it is not necessary to recapitulate the same in a general summary, other than to state that the various operations are timed that the tuckers 28, 50 and 67 perform their functions in quick succession, the first named tucker returning to position and being ready to make the first fold in a second paper as the tucker 50 completes the second fold of the preceding paper and starts back to its original position to pick up a second wrapper. The third tucker moves upward and engages the paper preliminary to making the third fold at the instant the second tucker starts on its reverse movement. The operation of the feeding mechanism is at a greater rate of speed than that of the folding rollers in order to space the papers apart as well as to impart rolling movement thereto as they successiveiy pass out of engagement with the roller ll. They are maintained in properly spaced relation by the star wheels and through the action of the feeder and the flexible strip 88 are caused 'to roll forward on the bars 82 and have the projecting adhesive/coated ends of the wrapper wound snugly upon them.

Fr m the above description it will be apparent that we have produced a machine embodying the features of advantage set forth as desirable in the statement of the object of the invent-ion, and which is susceptible of modification in various particulars, without departing from the principle of construction and mode of operation involved and without departure from the scope of the appended claims;

We claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for refolding the paper with a portion of the wrapper projecting therefrom, and means for rotating the folded paper to cause the projecting end of the wrapper to overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof where the same is folded with the paper, but exterior to the latter.

2., In a machineof the character descri bed, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of the paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrap-per partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, and means for rotating the folded paper to cause the rear end of the wrapper to Overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof, where the latter is wrapped with but exterior to the wrapped paper.

31in a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding thereof with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for refolding the paper with a portion of the wrapper projecting therefrom, means for rotating the folded paper to cause the projecting end of the wrapper to overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof, where the same is folded with but exterior to the paper and means for applying liquid adhesive to the wrapper for sticlc ing the overlapping portions of the same pogether to hold the paper in folding posilon.

llzi

4. In a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, means for rotating the folded paper to cause the rear end of the wrapper to overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof where the latter is wrapped with but exterior to the wrapper paper, and means to fasten together the overlapped portions of the wrapper.

5. In a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, means for rotating the folded paper to cause therear end of the Wrapper to overlap and engage themtermediate portion thereof where the latter is wrapped with but exterior to the wrapper paper, and means to successively convey the wrapped papers from the point where they are rotated in the operation of the overlapping portion of the wrapper together.

6. In a machine of the character ,described, a pair of driven feed and folding rollers, means for disposing paper above said rollers, means for giving the paper a preliminary central fold and for tucking the folded portion or edge between said rollers, a driven roller below one of said rollers for cooperative action therewith, means for giving the folded paper as it is fed from said pair of rollers, a preliminary fold and for tucking it at its last folded edge between the superposed rollers, a roller parallel with the uppermost of said superposed rollers, and means for giving the folded paper a preliminary third fold and for tucking the folded edge between the said super-posed roller and said roller parallel thereto.

7. In a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation,-mcans for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing suchfolding operation, means for rotating the folded paper to cause the rear 7 starting the folding of the-latter with the j wrapper partially within the fold, means for completing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, means for rotatin the folded paper to cause the rear end of tie wrapper to overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof where the latter is wrapped with but exterior to the wrapped paper, means for cooperating with the said parallel roller to revolve the folded and wrapped paper, means for applying an adhesive for securing the overlapped portions of the wrapper together, means for resting upon the wrapper paper and tending i301 tension the wrapper and insure the adhesion of its outer end to. the portion overlaipped by such end, and means actuated through the wrapped papers to effect their travel to a point of discharge.

9. In a machine of the character described, means for moving a wrapper edgewise toward the side of a paper and for starting the folding of the latter with the wrapper partially within the fold, means for complete ing such folding operation, means for starting another folding operation of the paper, means for completing such folding operation, means for rotating the folded paper to cause the rear end of the wrapper to overlap and engage the intermediate portion thereof where the latter is wrapped with but exterior to the wrap-per paper, means for applying an adhesive for securing the overlapped portions of the wrapper together, means cooperating withthe folding means for imparting travel and rotation to the wrapped paper, and flexible, means for resting on the wrapped paper and tending to tension the wrapper and insure its adhesion where fastened together. In witness whereof we hereunto aflix our signatures.

GEORGE E. RIDER. CLARENCE A. GLEASO'N. 

